The ONLY thing I use assessed value for is to determine the depreciable portion of the acquisition for write off.

Also, pre-tax portion could be converted into after-tax (Roth).

@Justin Williams I don't understand what you are trying to say in the #2 portion of your answer to Account Closed on the 70% rule.

Analyse the property both with yourself paying market rent - to see how well it cash-flows as a pure rental (look for 8-12%) - and with just the rented half bringing in revenue - to see if it can carry most, or all, your operating costs.If your immediate goal is to live for free while building equity and saving for more properties, have a look at triplexs or quadraplexes as well ... the smaller your non-producing portion of the property, the better chance you have of living free or even making a little positive cash flow.

When budgeting your payroll tax on your share of the salary, remember to consider the social security portion of FICA is assessed on the first $117,000 of earned income.

@Norma Cole I am somewhat in disagreement with this portion of the ultimate guide.  

With retail, office, industrial, you can have tenants pay their portion of the taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance based on each tenants percentage of square footage they occupy. 

However, the loan for your parents place won't show up unless your name is on the mortgage which is nice because whatever portion you pay on it now won't be counted as part of your debt service. 

You can also offer to pay a portion of the deposit as well.   

It's tough since you cannot run a "typical" formula for each situation because some buyers are able to get portions of work finished cheaper or do it themselves....Here are some sample numbers for your average buyer (profiting what they have into repairs):After repair value = $100,000Minus repairs - $10,000Minus fees, closing costs -$5000Minus your fee - $10,000Minus rehabbers profit - $10000Maximum Allowable Offer = 65k